Koroma names new finance minister

Freetown - Sierra Leone President Ernest Koroma has reshuffled his cabinet, including appointing the governor of the country's central bank as new finance minister, state media reported on Saturday.

Samura Kamara replaces David Carew as finance minister, while Carew was assigned the post of trade and industry minister in the 20 member-cabinet in the country still recovering from a 1991-2001 civil war.

Five ministers were sacked, including the mineral resources minister in the diamond-rich nation.

All new appointments will be subject to parliamentary approval, the reports said.

The West African country idles at the bottom of the United Nations development index and has an economy that is driven by foreign aid.

The decade-long civil war saw 120 000 people killed and countless more mutilated. - Sapa-AFP